Bathing trolley



-g 9 c. c. HARRIS ET AL 1987357195 BATHING TROLLEY Filed Jan. 8, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I I I I I I I Aug 25% 119382 c c. HARRiS ET AL 1,873,196

BATHING TROLLEY Filed Jan. 8,-1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 2 1932- c. c. HARRIS ET AL BATHING TROLLEY Filed Jan. 8, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 73 196 Aug 23 1932. c. c. HARRIS ET AL ,8 a

- BATHING TROLLEY Filed Jan. 8, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 MW' 6 07-5 'ZfaVwaa" l// Y///////)- ///////qm vtl/ llll k F QR MN a. v

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Patented Aug. 23, 1932 UNITED. S TE T CYEY I CARL c.- H'AR'RISHAND HAROLD w. cAnw Ln, or onAnGE; itssseeevssrts smn- CAD- WELL ASSIGNOR T-Q seinneim'rs BATHING mime Application filed. January 8, 1932. serialno. 585.588.

This invention relates to a trolley cong nal line 4 fl of Fig. 2 showing the stationary I cable and the trolley wheels in elevation;

Fig. 5 is a side view. of the trolley showing v structed for bathing purposes The principal objects of the invention are to provide a safe and strong trolley running on a stationary cable and having a handle depending from the trolley which the bather grasps to support himself therefrom; to provide means whereby the trolley is held stationary until the bather hangs from the handle; to provide this handle with means for releasing the trolley and allowing it to roll down the cable; to provide means whereby when the bather drops from the trolley, either upon striking the water or before a clutch on the trolley will grip, a second cable automatically; to provide means for operattrolley in the form of an endless cable run-' ning on both sides of the stationary trolley; v

to provide the trolley with means forguiding it by the two strands of the. second cable whether moving or not; to provide the second. cable and its connection with the trolley in such a; way asto do away with the swinging or whipping of a single cord or ropewhich,

it used, would wear out very rapidly and break after a few days use; to provide means for yieldingly stopping the trolley when it reaches the bottom of the stationary cable; to provide means for automatically disconnecting the motor for operating the mov-.

ing cable when the trolley reaches the elevated stand at the other end; thus comprising a safety throw-out switch and to provide various details of construction by which these objects are secured.

Other objects and advantages of the inven-; tion will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanyin-g drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of the upper end of the i Fig. a sectional view on the longitudt the clutch for holding the trolley to the movable cable; y

Fig. 6 is an end view of the parts shown in s-. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1: ofthe lower end of the trolley Fig. 8 is aplan of the same a Fig. 9 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 7 showing the stationary cable and the yielding stop for the trolley 5 X i Fig. 10 is asimilar view of the upperpart of the device showing themotor circuit closed and the trolley out of contact with the stop; and r I V Fig; 11- is a similar view showing the position of the parts when the trolley comes up and operates the yielding stop and breaks the circuit, a modification being shown.

In the form shown, this trolley arrange- .mcnt is supported by a tall pole 10 atone end' and a; shorter one 11 at the other. It

.will be understood that the starting stand 12 fixed to the tall pole is well above the surface of the water while the stationary cable 13' is connected with the short pole '11 at a point not greatly above the surface of the water. This cable 13 is also connected with the upper pole at a point well abovethe' starting stand. cable. p

The trolley 14 consists of a simple rectangular frame'lraving two axlesacross it on ,This provides a slanting whichare two central grooved trolley wheels 1,5, They run on the stationary cable 13. The trameisprovided with a transverse tube or bar 16 extendingthrough it and beyond it a considerable distance at each side. This is firmly fixed in position and. the two. arms thus provided have pe; of grooved wheels 17 ateach end. In the bottoms of the grooves aroundthese wheels passes the movable cable 18 to support and guide the wheels. I I The cable 18 has two strands, one moving up and the other down. They pass around two guide pulleys 1 9 at the bottom tokeep them separated the same distance apart at all times and at' the top they pass around two grooved pulleys and around guide pulleys 21 and extend down the pole 10. At the bottom is a counterweight 22 connected with a loop in-this cable by another grooved pulley 23. This weight is heavy enough to keep the cable 18 always taut. 7 Y.

,. The strand of this cable on one side is 'wound around the drum 25 ofa"motor 26 which is supported on a platform 27 fixed to the pole 10. This motor runs only in one direction and that direction is chosen to draw up that strand of the movable cable.

7 .This motor is not operated all the time, al-

though it could be if desired, but ordinarily it is not connected up except when the bather who is on the platform 10 operates a switch 28' to connect it. As soon as thetrolley has moved up to the top, the bather lets go of this switch and it will break by gravity. The

motor then stops. Therefore the whole cable p 18 stops. The motor is stopped automaticallyanyway.

The bather then grasps a handle 30 depending from the trolley through a rod 31 and frame 32. There is a cross rod 33 which is movable with respect to this frame and moves with the rod 31 to which it is fixed. Springs 34 will normally pull up this rod 33 to its stop and that pulls up the rod 31.

The movement of the rod 33 upwardly in this -.manner, of course,,takes place when the bather drops from the handle 30 as it is the weight of the bather that has held the rod down. VVhen'it moves u ,of course, a rope 35 connected with it w ich passes over a pulley 36, is released and that releases a f plunger 37 which is pressed by a spring 38 outwardly against the cable '18. There is nothing directly behind this plunger but the V w cable is held between the two wheels 17 which are very close to this plunger 37 as shown in Fig. 5. This action binds the cable to the I back up to starting platform.

The movement of the trolley up to the start-1 trolley and, if the motor is operated and the cable is moving, the trolley will be brought ing platform is indicated in Figs. 10 and 11.-

' The normal position is shown in Fig. 11

Where the trolley is either all the way or part" way down the cable. There is a stop 40 on" a rod 41 which is-provided with a spring 42 that normally forces the stop out and that forces it into the position shown in Fig.

10. Now when the trolley comes up, its" 1 frame will engage this stop 40 and push in the rod 41 which has a plunger 43 on the end. The stop rod 41is mounted in a tube 48 which has bolts 49 located above and below the stationary cable 13 to keepthe stop in proper position for engagement by the trolley.

n W111 be noted that in Fig. 10 this plunger holds a lever 44 in position to cause a contact 45 to engage in the motor circuit and keep it closed at that point. Of course, the circuit is not completed until the switch 28 has been closed. Assuming this switch to be closed, the cable 18 is running while the trolley is out of contact with the stop 40 When the trolley comes up to engage the stop 40, the

.plunger 43 is moved beyond thelever and it swings down either by gravity or the action of the spring 46. This breaks the contact-at 45 and stops the motor with the trolley up in position where the bather on the platform can reach the handle 30.

-It will be observed that the clutch 37 has held the trolley to the cable 18 which has become stationary now. 7 Therefore when the bather grasps the handle 30 he pulls the clutch by the descent ofthe rod 31 and frees the trolley from this stationarycable so that he can slide down supported'b-y thetrolley. At the lower end: the stationary cable 13 is provided above it with astop 50'havinga rod 51 and a spring 52 as in the other case. This is merely a ylelding stop for the trolley.

The end of the spring is located against the Fig. 11 shows a modification in which the hand switch 28 is eliminated. This makes it automatic. When the bather applies his weight tothe trolley handle, the plunger moves down with the trolleyand. the motor starts. So the trolleywill move up automatically as soon as the bather drops from the trolley. No one has to start the motor.

It will be seen that this furnishes a very satisfactory and safearrangement forbathand a means for mechanically bringing the trolley up the cable to a position to be used over again, TVhen a party onthe platform 12 closes the switch 28, the contact 45 of course is closed, if the trolley is not already up and ers to use to slide down an incline. They can drop off the trolley before they reach the water or afterwards as they see lit; The device has proved very'popular in practice. It furnishes a strong mechanical construction 7 the motor will start to move the cable 18 upwardly on .oneside and the trolley with it. There is no danger of its moving up too far on account of the safety switch 45 and the party using the trolley has to do nothing at allin the way of operating switches in orderto slide down. It is the next bather who turns the switch 28 to bring the trolley back. Everything is automatic and, on account of not depending on a single cable, the parts can be made very durable and it isalsosafel The worst that can happen to a bather is that he rnay drop from the trolley when he isc'onsiderably above the water. "Everything else with an inclined stationary cable, of a trolv works automatically. There is only one clutch 37. There is none needed on the cable 18 that moves downwardly; Nevertheless a perfect gulde 1s located here 111 the wheels 17 and the trolley is provided with a plate 29 under it to lreep the cable from coming out of thegroove.

Although we only one form ofour invention, we are aware of the fact that modifications canbe made therein by any person skilled inthe art withwe do not wish to be limited in this respect,'i

7 but what we do claim is of the bather, a cable at the-side of the sta- 1; In a bathing trolley, the combination with a slantingly supported stationary cable, of a trolley thereon adapted to run on the cable, a handle on the trolley for the support tionary cable, an arm projecting from the trolley, and means thereon for engaging the second cable and steadying the trolley while it is in motion.

2. In a bathing trolley, the combination with a slantingly supported stationary cable,

of a trolley thereon having grooved wheels adapted to run on the cable, a handle at the center of the trolleyfor the support of the bather, a cable at the side of the stationary cable, an arm projecting from the trolley and having a grooved wheel thereon for engaging the second cable and steadying the trolley while it is in motion, a spring-pressed plungeradapted to engage the cable adjacent said grooved wheel to hold the trolley from running down the stationary .cable, and means I connected with sald handle for automatically releasing the plunger when a weight is applied to the handle.

8. In a bathing trolley, the combination with a slantingly supported stationary cable, of a trolley thereon adapted to run on the" cable, a handle at the center of the trolley tor the support of the bather, a cable at the s de of the stationary cable, an arm projectmg from the trolley and having means for en gaging the second cable, a plunger adaptedtoengage the cable to hold the trolley from running down the stationary cable, and means connected with said handle for automatically releasing the plunger when a" weight is applied to the handle. I 4. In a bathing trolley, the combination with an inclined stationary cable, of a trolley comprising a pair of grooved trolley wheels in alignment resting on said cable, a second cable moving around said cable and having two strands, one on each side of the stationary cable and substantially parallelwith it, the trolley being provided with arms extending in opposite directions therefrom, and means on the end of each arm for enhave illustrated and described gaging the second cable to steady the trolley,

5': In abathing trolley, the combination iley comprising a pair of grooved-trolley wheels in alignment resting on said cable, a

strands of the second cable to steady the trolley,and means for running the second cable intermittently but always in the same direction. 7

6. In a bathing trolley, the combination with an inclined stationary cable, of a trolley comprising a pair of grooved trolley wheels in alignment resting on said cable, a movable cable having two strands, one on each side of the stationary cable, the trolley being provided with arms extending in opposite directions therefrom,ftwo grooved wheels .on the end-of each armispacedslightly apart and adapted to rest on the two strands of the secondcable to steady the trolley, a clutch carried by one of said arms and adapted to hold the running cable between the two wheels ,on that side when the clutchis operated, yielding means for nor mallyholding the clutch'in position to apply a strain to the cable and hold-the trolley with respect to the cable,'a handle from which the bather depends, and means operated by the handle for releasing the said clutch when a weight is applied to the handle.

wheels on'the ends of said arms spaced Sligl1t 1 ly apart, and adapted-to rest on the two 7. In a bathing trolley, the combination I with an inclinedstationary cable, of a trolley resting on said cable, a movable cable having two strands, one on each side of the stationary cable, the trolley being provided with arms extending in opposite directions theretrom, means on the end of each arm adapted to reston the two strands of the second cable, a clutch carried by one of said arms and adapted to hold the running cable,

yielding means for normally holding the clutch in position to apply a strain tothe cable and hold the trolley with respect to the cable, a handle from which the bather depends, and means operated by said handle for releasing the said clutch when a weight is applied to the handle. Y

' 8: In a trolley for the purpose described, the combination of a stationary inclined cable, a trolley running on said cable, an endless cable having guide pulleys for guiding it down one side of the stationary cable and up the other side of the plane thereof, the second cablebeing arranged to form a loop and having a weight hanging in said loop to hold'it taut, a motor havinga drumon which a few strands of the cable are wound, said motor being arranged to rotate intermittently in one directiononlyfandcmeans on the trolley for gripping the strand of the 'movable cablewhich moves upwardly, for the purpose described. I 9. In a trolley for the purpose'described, the combination of a stationary inclined cable, a trolley movable up and down the cable, a movable cable having two strands, one on each side of the stationary cable, a motor adapted to operate said movable cable,

and a swltch by which the current to the motor can be closed to start the motor to draw 1 thecable to a position to close said contact.

the trolley up the stationary cable.

10. In a trolley for the purpose described, the combination ofa stationary'inclined cable, a trolley movable up and down the cable, a movable cable, a motor for operating said movable cable, ayieldingly mounted trolley, whereby,

stop at the top of the cable which the trolley is adapted to engage when it comes up to the p, to be kept closed when the trolley isnot in contact with the stop and adapted to be opened by the movement of the stop by the when the trolley comes up and movesthe stop, the motor circuit will open and the travel of the trolley upwardly will be terminated. c

11. In a trolley for the purpose described, the combination of a stationary inclined cable, a trolley movable up and down the cable, a movable cable having two strands, one

' on each side of the stationary cable, a motor on the drum of which one strand of said movable cable is wound, a switch by which the current to the motor can be closed to start the motor to draw the trolley up the stationary cable, a yieldingly mounted stop at the top of the cable which the trolley is adapted to engage when it comes up to the top, a contact in the motor circuit arranged V to be kept closed when the trolley is not in contact with the stop and adapted to be a contact in the motor circuit arrangedfwardly, a motor, circuit having a hand switch and a releasable contact therein, a plunger connected with said rod for holding the releasable contact closed until the stop is engaged by the trolley on the way up and being adapted to move beyond the contact when the trolley engages the stop, a spring for opening the contact, whereby the motor circuit is opened and the trolley will not ascend any further, and a spring for normally mov- 7 ing the stopand plunger downwardly along 14. The combination of a stationary inclined cable, a trolley running on said cable,

an endless cable having guide pulleys. for;

15. The combination of an inclined cable, a trolley freely slidable down the cable, a

motor having means for drawing the trolley up the cable, and means for automatically disconnecting the motor from its source of power when the trolley reaches the top of the cable. a v In testimony whereof, we have hereunto aiiixed our signatures.

CARL C. HARRIS. HAROLD W. CADWELL.

opened by the movement of thestop by the I trolley,whereby, when the trolley comes up 1 and moves the stop, the motor circuit wil 7 open and the travel of the trolley upwardly I will be terminated.

12. In a trolley of the class described, the

combination with an inclined stationary ca-- ble, a trolley located thereon, a movable cable, a stop, a motor having means for moving the trolley upwardly, a motor circuit having means for holding the releasable contact closed until the stop is engaged by the trolley on the way up and being adapted to move beyond the contact when the trolley engages the stop, and a spring for opening the con- I tact, whereby the motor circuit is opened andthe trolley will not ascend any further.

13. In a trolley of the class described, the combination with an inclined stationary cable, a trolley located thereon, a movable cable, a stop having a rod held parallelwith the cable at the upper end, a motor having means for moving the movable cable up 

